Scully Leaving X-Files

Thomas M Hughes sent us a link where Gillian Anderson announces that Sculley will follow Mulder's footsteps off the X-files after this season. (And since I'm in Germany for LinuxTag I get to post something before I usually even get up!)

Comments

I'm Giving Doggett And Reyes A Chance

[cybrpnk]

Actually, I wish Anderson was leaving THIS season so we could get on with a clean slate instead of this drag-it-on-til-it-stinks mentality the X-Files has now. Chris Carter & Co. have in my opinion pulled a minor miracle off by establishing Robert Pattrick / John Dogget as a viable and even desirable alternative to Duchovney / Mulder. I have become quite a fan of Doggett's take-no-crap mentality over Mulder's trust-no-one. I also think Gish is a hottie. I say lets wish Mulder and Scully well as enduring icons and get on to seeing what the dynamic could be with people who actually are on a first name basis with one another. The original X-files was about 90s-style alienation and distance between people. I'd like to see them explore the conspiracy of the 21st century now, which is all becoming one big happy group / hive mind led by M$.

Re:I'm Giving Doggett And Reyes A Chance

[No Such Agency]

I like John Doggett and Monica Reyes too. They are a very DIFFERENT pair than Mulder and Scully, but not any less viable. And they haven't personally pissed off half of the U.S. government, which might work in their favour as investigators :-) Between this, and the fact that they are played by capable actors (Gish is good, Patrick is of course amazing), the show could be very good this season, as long as the writers keep their heads out of their asses. It almost makes me want GA to "retire" to the stage now for some well-deserved artistic exploration. We'll still have our tape collections for when we need a Scully fix after all :-) But I can see how the character could serve as a "bridge" for the audience, and a useful connection for the new agents (who are still pretty new to the alien/mutant/monster hunting game).

Re:I'm Giving Doggett And Reyes A Chance

[IronChef]

We'll still have our tape collections for when we need a Scully fix after all :-)

I never got into the Cult of Scully. I always thought she was a weak character, a real waste of potential. She's a weak personally, always taking orders from Mulder. She's weak in combat, always seeming to get her gun knocked away. And lately with the baby thing she's been weak emotionally.

They could have written her much better, made her a PARTNER to Mulder instead of a subordinate. They could have made her tougher, which EVERY GUY would have loved. Women viewers too, I suspect. But they overdid her role as a foil to Mulder, and as a result she's just not that interesting, being incapable of anything but a good autopsy. A real waste.

She is a hottie though. :)

Anyway, I say BRING ON the new agents. Maybe they can bring the show back from the zombie-like state it has been in for years.

Flogging a dead horse

[sharkticon]

So what? Who cares?

When the X-Files first came out it was interesting and innovative, catching the mood of the time perfectly and holding it with well written stories and interesting characters. There was a good balance of one-off shows and the main story arc, and it was all original material.

And now? The main characters have left or are leaving, we're seeing the same old shit time and time again and it's just not exciting any more. I gave up after the film came out, and I've not missed it at all.

It's just a pity that studios feel the need to extend shows beyond any kind of reasonable shelf life, and that far too many writers are all too willing to make a quick buck by going along with it. Let's face it, most writers just aren't talented enough to keep coming up with fresh ideas for years and years, and so we see recycled crap repeating itself again and again. Let it die for Christ's sake!

And even worse, there's the resurrected show, in which studios decide that they can re-milk a dead cash cow. There's a new Star Trek series coming out (oh joy), and even worse, new Babylon 5 as well (ugh). This is just riding on the backs of those viewers who are so fanatical about these things they'll spend their money on it no matter what, which in my book is pretty low.

Out of curiosity, why is it only sci-fi gets this kind of rabid fandom? Other genres have shows which are popular, but it seems only Trekkers and whatever it is B5 fans call themselves are willing to fork out big bucks for some kind of novelty alarm clock which plays their show's theme tune. Is it a substitute for a healthy social life? I just don't get it myself.

Re:X-Files Phenomenon

[number one duck]

Geeze, man, thats like suggesting that some people still believe in God!! What makes believing in ghosts or demons any sillier than that?

"This is not happening. This is not happening."

[smirkleton]

While the quality of the series may have begun to decline before the X-Files movie, I was at that point still engaged enough to care about the characters, interested enough to want to see how the whole Cancerman/Consortium/Mytharc would resolve itself, and dedicated enough to come to the series defense on the occasion I found it being derided by purists for a decline in quality.

I am no longer thusly inclined. My trust in Chris Carter's instincts was misplaced.

Nowadays, if there is to be dissing of the series, I'll join the chorus and ask for a refrain if it ends too quickly.

I find I'm amazed at and depressed by the actions of Chris Carter. He was once a vocal defendant of preserving the dignity of the series. He spoke lucidly about needing to make decisions that were in the best interest of the characters, and one would assume, the legacy of the show. He stated repeatedly on the record there would be no romance between Scully & Mulder, such as in this interview from 1999:

"I've resisted any temptation (of romance) because I don't think it's right for the characters," says Carter. "For me, the passion and the protectiveness of one towards the other is something that we all admire and envy because that kind of trust and caring happens so infrequently in life. When it does, it is transcendent."

I'm amazed at what Chris Carter has done with the trust of viewers...

1) Scully / Mulder kiss (and probably boinked 9 months prior) as the cliffhanger for last season, with Mulder not to return to the series.

2) The Consortium alien invasion / mytharc ends (primarily) with all the main baddies getting torched in a hanger. Effectively, the threat of a "V"-like global alien invasion, which was introduced as a potential threat in the 4th season and created a palpable urgency for a few seasons following, was neutralized simply by killing off two dozen old white men that drank brandy with Cancerman.

3) The search by Mulder for his sister, which formed the true heart of the series and propulsion for his career and search for "truth" ended a couple of seasons ago with Mulder romping around with her ghost in a forest!. Turns out she died at the age of 13 or so. (insert comic 'boing!' sound effect here).

4) (insert countless examples of depressing recent plot-points, complaints about new agents, spin-off series, lack-of-focus, lack-of-care, comments about THE MONEY being more important than THE ART at this point, digs at Duchovny for forcing the relocation to California, digs at Fox for milking a cow to death, then milking a dead-cow, and a joke about "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" here).

The show has become an insufferable self-parody, and Chris Carter will have only himself to blame when it comes time to reflect on the legacy of the series. I suspect he will, for the rest of his life (particularly AFTER the series dies presumably a couple of seasons from now) hear fans and critics alike tell him that he blew it. The X-files was, in its day, both a cultural phenomenon and a show of the highest calibre. But it has become now a depressing, hollow shell of its former self. It has no heart, no soul and no mind, and it asks the same of its viewers.

Cmdr Taco, Hemos, and Cowboy Neal quit Slashdot!

[Dr_Cheeks]

Sources at the Open Source Developer Network have revealed that this version of the Slashcode is going to be the last one that sees original Slashdot characters Cmdr Taco, Hemos and Cowboy Neal working as editors. It's beliveded that before the next release of the Slashcode the characters will be killed off, to allow them to work on other projects.

Rob Malda (who plays Cmdr Taco) said "Yeah, we've been with Slashdot for several years now, and we just felt it was time for a change". The plot twist mirrors those of The X-Files and Buffy, where major characters were killed off for similar reasons.

Industry analysts suspect that fear of typecasting prompted the move, though some wonder if the editors will be able to live down previous glories; Doug Synergy, Self Proclaimed Web-Guru, said "Y'know, they've been doing news for nerds and bashing Microsoft for so long it's difficult to imagine them doing something like The Barbie Fan Club".

In recent weeks Slashdot has been subject to a series of intriguing plot twists, with the server repeatedley being unavailable, but even this hasn't held the interest of previously loyal fans.

It seems unlikely that the site will continue in it's current form for much longer, but it's been suggested that current editors Michael Simms and John Katz could take over a spin-off site; Slashtroll, Goatse.cx That Matters.

Opinions please

[gowen]

on the exact moment the X-Files Jumped The Shark. For me, it was the movie, and the realisation that the plot was never going to have a satisfying story arc as long as they milked it like a cash cow...